Tell Me About Matthew
by ZoeyBridget
Summary: Charles Blake is curious to know more about Matthew. At Mary's suggestion, he asks Tom Branson about him. This is my idea of how that conversation might have gone. I own none of these characters, but I like them a lot!


After luncheon one autumn day, Tom, having offered to tour some of the farms with Charles, set off with him down the main road from Downton.

"Tom," said Charles conversationally, "I hope you don't mind, but I'm curious about Matthew. Of course it's obvious how Mary felt…well, _still_ feels…about him, but she tells me that _you_ knew him quite well, too." Tom nodded. "So I'm wondering if you found him to be the, well…_paragon_ everyone else seems to have done?"

"Paragon?" repeated Tom with a rueful smile. "That's quite an apt description, really. Oh, make no mistake - he could be a little too stubbornly moral sometimes – he _would_ do the right thing! - but yes…noble, brave, kind, generous, witty, well-read – and not that one bloke should say this about another, but…very handsome as well."

"Yes, I've seen his photograph," agreed Charles. "Naturally, that would appeal."

"Well," laughed Tom, "as you know, it never hurts with the ladies. Although he never seemed to be aware of it…he wasn't the least bit vain. All in all, I'd have to say," he continued thoughtfully, "that Matthew was like a big brother to me – my best friend, really, after Sybil."

"It seemed that way to Mary, too," Charles told him.

"Just before their wedding," admitted Tom, "he told me that 'as brothers-in-law with high-minded wives, we'd better stick together.'"

Charles chuckled, shaking his head. "Now, _that's_ the kind of man you want as an ally."

"You certainly do," agreed Tom. "Did Mary also tell you I was best man at their wedding?"

"Is that so? No, she didn't."

"One of Sybil's old suitors -" explained Tom, still with a trace of bitterness, "one of those interchangeable stuck-up bluebloods - had put me in a humiliating position at the pre-wedding dinner, and Matthew stood up in front of them all, clapped me on the shoulder and announced to everyone that he had chosen me as best man. The old friend he'd asked had fallen ill, but still…I was overwhelmed and I think Sybil was, too. So many of the others seemed bent on keeping me in 'my place' and harping on my having been the chauffeur."

"How did Mary react?"

"She and Matthew's mother both seemed delighted. I'll never know if it was only for Sybil's sake or for family solidarity, but still…it meant a lot to me that Matthew did that and they apparently approved. And then, the night before the wedding, when Mary tried to call it off, I paid Matthew back by bringing them back together."

"Mary tried to call off the wedding?" asked Charles, surprised.

Tom laughed. "She did…after seven years of the most ridiculous back-and-forth, if you can imagine! I think it was Shakespeare who said, _'the course of true love never does run smooth,'_ and that could've been written with them in mind, for sure."

"What happened?"

Tom shrugged. "They had a fight, of course… about an unexpected inheritance Matthew was to receive, one that he didn't think he deserved. They had very different ideas about it - Matthew didn't want to accept it in the first place, Mary insisted that he _should_ accept it as the estate needed the money, Matthew claimed if he did he'd give it to charity, Mary was livid, accusing Matthew of not being on their side, Matthew telling her he wouldn't feel right taking it for himself and she didn't understand. It was an epic battle right there in the Grand Hall in the middle of all the wedding decorations – lots of shouting, mostly on Mary's part, and the whole house could hear it. Neither of them would back down, on pain of death."

"He was a strong man, then," mused Charles. "Although I think I might've been on Mary's side."

"Well, I suppose her stance made sense from a practical standpoint, thinking of all the people on the estate whose livelihoods depended on it," observed Tom, choosing to keep his own views to himself. "But when Matthew felt strongly about something, that was _it_! He was immovable. He and Mary were evenly matched in that regard."

"So, you…?" prompted Charles.

"Sorry…got off the track – it's a habit of mine." Tom sighed. "So, over Robert insisting that _he_ should be the one to do it, I drove over to Crawley House to see Matthew. Over a fair amount of whiskey, I managed to convince him that despite their differences, he and Mary were meant to be together, and he should go back to the Abbey and patch things up with her however he could."

"And he did."

"Yes. You see, even from the front seat of that car, I'd seen enough over the years to know that he and Mary would be miserable apart, and deep down, they both knew it. Well, _everyone_ knew it, probably better than they did! I never found out what was said that night, but when he left, apparently all was well again."

"Impressive," said Charles. "I don't claim to know Mary as well as some, but I'm guessing it must have been hard work to convince her."

"Well, after all, Matthew _was_ a solicitor. So he was very good at holding up his side of an argument." Charles laughed. "But maybe it wasn't so hard as all that…I never saw two people more in love. Well, except maybe Sybil and me." Tom paused briefly, remembering. "No doubt Matthew found the right words…" he smiled, "or perhaps no words at all were necessary in the end."

"I wish I had met him," said Charles regretfully. "He sounds like a very good man."

"I don't know anyone who didn't think so, unless it was that bully Mary was engaged to during the war, Richard Carlisle. There was no love lost there, as you can imagine, on either side! But nobody here liked Carlisle – not even, I suspect, Mary." "Sybil and I were in Ireland by that time, but it was a great day when we heard that Matthew finally took a sock at him." Tom grinned, enjoying the memory.

"I'll have to ask her about that."

"Well, don't expect her to be very forthcoming. I think Carlisle is an episode she prefers to forget."

"I can imagine," said Charles, knowing he would ask her nonetheless.

"Anyway," continued Tom, "I admired Matthew, very much. When he first came here, he was a fish out of water for sure, but he was determined to stand up for himself, not let them change him, and give as good as he got. And he did, as much as anyone could." After a moment, Tom continued quietly, "I miss him. I'll get in tense situations and ask myself what _he_ would have done. Plus he made me laugh, quite a lot. I don't know what I would've done, after Sybil, if he hadn't been there. Maybe my grief over Matthew doesn't measure up to Mary's, Isobel's, and Robert's, but I do feel it."

"Well, if losing him was like losing your brother, I can certainly understand," Charles said. "Thanks for filling me in. I feel his presence here so strongly, even now. "

"We all do." Thinking of the pigs, Tom grinned. "I can tell you this, Charles…I really think Matthew would've liked you."

Charles smiled back. With a formal little nod, he replied, "Given all you've told me about him, Tom, I will take that as the highest compliment."

And they continued on toward the farms.


End file.
